Notes / Commercial Description:
This Hop Monster uses multiple kettle hop additions with the technique of doubling the hop amount each addition (exponentially). Add in the hop back and the continuous dry hopping and your starting to get the picture. The beer is finished off with a "body-bag" sized hop-bag full of hop cones and oak chips. There it ages and mellows, disguising the alcohol content for a double strong, incredibly hoppy, yet drinkable beer.

Reviews by beagle75:

A: Slightly hazy, dark orange-gold color with under one finger of diminishing white foam head. Scant lacing remains on the glass. A lone stream of eager bubbles rise from the contoured side of the glass. A wisp of drifting yeast is seen low in the column.

S: Caramelly treacle and fermented grain make the smell rich with sweetness and heady vapors that stop well short of being boozy. Tropical fruit in the form of pineapple is faint but present, as is coniferous foliage. Trace amounts of well-cured oak, but no alcohol, is detected in the smell.

T: Begins sweet, with snappy herbaceous spice hop aromatics and candied citrus amidst lively moderate acidity. Fairly intense caramel malt emerges in the middle as spicy hops decline, replaced by the more mellow pineapple tropical fruit from the smell. Oak is also first detected in the middle, although it comes on quite strong in the brisk, drying finish. Bitterness seems restrained at first, but repeated visits reinforce it until the lingering presence is quite significant and faintly medicinal. Intense flavors throughout mask the gentle alcohol presence, although it is frequently hinted at.

M: Medium viscosity; syrupy, resinous, and warming on the palate; with moderate carbonation.

D/O: As indicated by the name, this is a huge DIPA that dominates the palate but also entertains it mightily. Hops and malt, bright and sweet, scintillate on the palate, threatening to overwhelm the senses. Every other wood-aged DIPA encountered thus far could stand to learn a thing or two from this beer, which is surprisingly mellow and easy to tolerate despite all of the senses saying that this is as extreme as it gets. While this beer falls in the same sub-family as Port Hop 15 and Firestone Double Jack, it is its well-practiced balance in the face of ballsy intensity that sets it apart. The palate does not tire of this, even if all reasonable judgment says that it should.

More User Reviews:

4.9/5 rDev +11.6%

Incredibly aromatic with loads of dank ripe lighter-fruit astringency - peach and apricot, musty peach. Clean crisp fresh pine, some sweet grapefruit. The oak seems to balance out the sweetness and booziness - get a little graham cracker and vanilla in a addition to the biscuity malt.

Unique! Had on tap at Alpine on release day, then again from a bottle on the same day.

Can say, of the 150+ odd IPA-style beers (single, double, triple, and otherwise) I tasted in 2015, Expo is the best.

The appearance is bright orange with a fine, 3 finger head. Smells like fresh biscuits and orange marmalade, plus honey and hints of oak. Taste is all hops. Glorious, wonderful hops. If you love hops, odds are you'll love Expo. Friends of mine claimed that the oak was very noticeable, I felt that it was a nice background to the overall palette of the beer. The finish is super duper clean even as it strips your tastebuds of any and all ability to ever enjoy a Heineken ever again in your natural lifetime. I have one last bottle burning a hole in my fridge... might be calling my name soon.

The color on the most recent offering seems to be a little lighter than previous releases. More of a typical IPA coloring than the deeper amber/orange cast to previous samplings. I'm fortunate enough to have had this fresh from the brewery on many occasions, and it never disappoints. Big malty nose, which you'd expect with that ABV, but so well balanced by the truck load of hops that that it's amazingly sippable for an 11%+ Imperial. I've had most of the big names...Both Plinys, Heady Topper, etc, and this is my choice for best Imperial style IPA. It is good to live in Beer Mecca!

Poured a caramel, honey, murky color with three fingers of khaki cream rocky head. Lots of various streams of bubbles coming up from the bottom. Great layered lacing along the sides of the glass. Excellent retention on the top all the way down. (Sight - 4.25)

Appearance  This came out of the OBriens tap a beautiful, inviting bright orange in color with little head on a bad pour. Well, not really a bad pour, just the barmaid trying to give me as much of this sweet goodness as she could.

Smell  The hops aroma here is like some sort of hop extract. It is so stiff and so strong. It has to be the strongest hop smell out of any beer that Ive head. Theres some malt in the nose for the diligent drinker.

Taste  The malts come on much better at the taste, but of course its the hop flavor that carries the day. I expected to just find a wallop of pine resin, but along with that the brewer managed to pack some good floral hops in there as well.

Mouthfeel  This is medium-bodied with a literal hop shock to the tongue. Paramedics should keep some of this stuff in the ambulance in case CPR and those electrical pads fail to resuscitate a patient.

Drinkability  This is a slow-drinking, super-bitter ale that has some of the strongest hop flavors money can buy. If you ever have a chance to sample this and pass it up the Bros should ban you for life.

Update  I also had the privilege of sampling a barrel-aged batch on the same night. It had a huge oak compliment to the hops and seemed more alcoholic. It actually made the beer a slightly better drinker. Excellent stuff!

A-poured clear, orangey golden color, decent head which dissapated quickly.
S-Very interesting hop aroma, perfumy basil, vegetal hop smell, citrus smel, but also some piney scents. Very interesting.
T-Fantastic. Sweet with caramel, minty, hops, citrus flavors are there, pine hops show up, the oak starts to be noticed as well. Not very bitter on the finish at all but borderline sweet on the finish. So fresh but not astringent. No alcohol burn.
M-Med-full and creamy. Very nice.
T-I could have drank this all night and been happy. It tasted different every time I tasted it. Very unique and delicious.

A great beer that I had on tap at O'Briens this weekend. The beer was a medium goldish color with a nice head that laced down the glass quite well. The smell was great for a hophead like me. Smelt of fresh hops and not much else, very piney. The taste followed suit with a very full bodied hop flavor that was not too dry but more woody and pine like. Add to the mix a very nice mouthfeel and no hint of the high abv and you have yourself one dangerous beer! Consume with caution!

Pours into my glass a deep amber orange with a healthy, creamy inch of off white head on top. Aroma is huge with a wall of hops...pine resins, citrus and dank herbal notes. Somewhat fruity and tropical along with a caramel/biscuit backbone. A touch of oak. Quite intense and vibrant.

First sip brings a wall of wonderful hops. Huge pine resins alongside citrus and fruity tropical flavors. Dank herbaceous notes with a solid caramel/biscuit malt profile. Flows down with a hardy bitterness and a touch of oak. Alcohol creeps in slightly but overall it's kept in check. Sweetness is well balanced. Exponential Hoppiness is an appropriate name! Yum.

Mouthfeel is super smooth and even a bit creamy. Spot on carbonation, this is incredibly drinkable for the strength and the ABV is non-existent. Overall, just a great super hoppy brew. Glad I was able to get a bottle.

On tap at Liar's club in SD, CA. Arrived light amber, quite clear with a near white head, and showing off wildly scaered lacing. Nose here was very fruity, mangoes!. The intense hop crunch is the signature of this brew, does the term "S.D. style DIPA" mean anything to you? Oily, peppery, more fruit, mango, grapefruit galore. 11% well hidden in this dangerous, tasty, hop bomb.